Corrine Peterson of Ogden, Utah summed up the feelings of many when she wrote to the Deseret News (10 November 2003, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,525036710,00.html):

I want to thank Elizabeth Smart for letting her story be told. I was one of the yearning mothers who followed the story closely. I mourned heavily at her loss and rejoiced with many thousands over her safe return. As my daughter and I watched her on television, we felt a sense of closure to the whole ordeal. Elizabeth is a girl of courage and an inspiration to us all. She and her family are heroes.

After graduating with a fine art degree from the London Academy of Fine Art (now the Royal Academy of Art and Design) Daren worked freelance for various art departments creating high end visuals for printed media and eventually for broadcast. It was then that he developed a passion for CG imagery and eventually went to work with ILM on a per contract basis. Daren continued to develop visual effect skills and eventually took them to Feature Films for Families as a VFX Supervisor. There he completed work on 5 theatrically released features. In 2001 Daren left Feature Films for Families to complete work on a number of projects as a freelance artist. Daren brings skill in animation and artistic input to the already talented list of individuals working on the Ecto project, as well as some sophisticated hardware and software power to enhance and maximize its humble budget.

Joshua has spent most of his youth moving around the country, living on both coasts, and traveling the world at a young age. "Everyone I meet, when I tell them I've lived in Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, and more, they always ask me if I was an ARMY brat," jokes Joshua. "The truth is, I just have very loving parents who've always wanted the best for me, and my family, and we were lucky enough to have an opportunity to live in different parts of the country."

Early in his career Joshua developed as a stage actor performing in various small productions honing his acting ability. Receiving more than five awards for acting in his brief career, he turned down a small scholarship to private university, to pursue a pre-medical degree at Sam Houston State University. "After my first semester in college I knew quickly that medical school wasn't for me and I decided to transfer to UNT (the University of North Texas) to pursue my true passion." In only three more years he graduated with a degree in film.

No novice to the filmmaking scene, this young award-winning director/producer has taken on all kinds of responsibilities in this project, which he jovially refers to as his "baby." Not only did he write the screenplay, but he also produced, directed, acted, and worked in all other aspects of the production. "I'm out here to have fun and make a movie," says Joshua, "it's very important that everyone on the production has a great time, so I'm not one of those directors who feels he is too good to boom or slate the camera. Yeah, we have folks who can do that, but I want to get my hands dirty in this production."

Lareena Smith grew up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... She was raised mostly in Salt Lake City, even though she was born in Port Angeles, Washington.

At age 27, Lareena married a polygamist, and for ten years she lived as a polygamist wife in three different marriages. In 1999 she got tired of waiting for the end of the world, and left the fundamentalist lifestyle. Following a forgotten dream of filmmaking, she entered the University of Utah and made this film.

The movie "Polygamy and Me" is probably the first film about polygamy directed by a woman who has actually experienced it.

In 2001 Lareena graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. in film. She enjoys science fiction and fantasy and hopes to make feature films in the future.

Robert Farrell Smith lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife, Krista, his daughters, Kindred Anne and Phoebe Hope, and his son, Bennett Williams. He is the owner of Sunrise Bookstore in Albuquerque. Robert is a man with few hobbies. He played the drums for one and a half weeks when he was ten and took two tennis lessons back in 1996. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on whom you ask, writing is the one thing he stuck with. As a result, Robert is the author of several funny books, including the Trust Williams Trilogy.

Mindy Smoot Robbins is happy to be returning to Tuacahn after playing Liesl in The Sound of Music and Gerte in Oklahoma! last season. She toured with the Broadway Company of Les Miserables, covering Eponine. Other credits include Walt Disney World's Hoop Dee Hoo, Kids of the Kingdom, and Streetmosphere, Mary in Lex DeAzevedo's Gloria, the Life of Christ, Eliza in My Fair Lady at Brigham Young University, BYU's Young Ambassadors, Lagoon's Music USA and Hollywood Nites, and a guest performer for the opening ceremonies of the Huntsman World Senior Games. She has recorded for Disney and Kurt Bestor and has performed with John Schmidt, Colm Wilkinson, Jason Alexander, Donny Osmond, and Sam Harris. She graduated from BYU with a BFA in Music Dance Theatre. Thanks to Conor and family for their love and support.

Thomas Sobchack has been a faculty member of the University of Utah since 1966. Currently he is the Director of Graduate Study for Film and Theatre. Thomas Sobchack recieved his A.B. from Columbia University 1959; M.A. from Hunter College 1961; and Ph. D. from City University of New York 1968.

He is the co-author of An Introduction to Film (Harpers) and Introduction to Film Criticism (Longman) and numerous articles in journals like Literature/Film Quarterly and The Journal of Popular Film and Television. Over the years he's delivered papers at major film organization meetings, most recently he spoke on "The Roots of Contemporary Film Noir." Professor Sobchack is also the Film Critic for Morning Edition on KUER-FM, the local NPR affiliate.

Tom's hobbies include fly fishing, bee keeping, and serving as a docent at Hogle Zoo.

Stacy's love for dancing and performing resulted in a discovery of her talent and passion for acting. In her own words, "Acting is like air to me. Once I took my first breath I couldn't get enough." She is very dedicated and looks forward to the opportunities that lie ahead of her. She credits The Actor's Lounge for guiding her in this journey of acting and self-discovery.

Darin knows the power music has to influence people positively and has chosen to pursue a career in the music business. He anticipates publishing his first CD in August 2004.

Darin has been singing his whole life, but it wasn't until college that he began seriously pursuing music. He red-shirted on the BYU-Idaho football team, but didn't see a lasting future in it, so he decided to follow his love for music. Later, he enrolled in the University of Utah, where he performed with the Salt Lake Institute Concert Choir. He didn;t think he was good enough, but when he was given the chance to solo "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserable, he took it. The following year he performed with the University of Utah 'A Capella' choir, took voice lessons, and took a semester of music classes. He believes in going with the flow of things and taking the opportunities that come your way, even if you are afraid of them.

Darin collects original score motion picture soundtracks as he enjoys the beauty of music orchestration. He wants to produce good, inspiring music of this kind and enjoys the musical styles of Charlotte Church and Josh Groban. He believes music is not about the performer, but about the positive influence music can have on the listener.

Sparks and her books even became the subject of rock opera titled written and performed by a Latter-day Saint musical group named Grain (based in American Fork, Utah). The rock opera, A Place in the Sun, was reviewed by Latter-day Saint playwright and drama critic Eric Samuelsen in 1997. A Place in the Sun presents the story of a teenager named Alden Barrett who commits suicide, after which his journal is used by Sparks as less than 10 percent of her book Jay's Journal. The opera is strongly critical of Sparks, and views Jay's Journal as a fraudulent work which exploits Alden's journal, although Sparks' book and the journal are actually so different that this criticism may be unfounded. The focus of the rock opera, however, is on Alden, whose very real problems were obviously not caused by Sparks. Samuelsen said of A Place in the Sun (http://www.aml-online.org/reviews/b/B199734.html): "although nothing directly LDS appears in the work, I think it's a terrific piece of LDS fiction. The opera does not pull punches; Barrett's main problems were schizophrenia and drugs, and the opera takes us inside his mind; it's a frightening journey. And then we meet the author-as-vampire, as Beatrice Sparks exploits the family's pain. But the final images are of healing, hope, forgiveness. It's really very powerful."

Biography from Rick Walton's "Bring Utah Authors and Illustrators To Your School" website (http://www.rickwalton.com/utahauth/bsparks.htm):

Beatrice Sparks, a psychologist, also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Human Behavior. Her books have won the American Library Association Young Adult Notable Award, the Christopher Medal, School Library Journal Best Books, and Quick Pick for Recommended Reading by the American Library Association. Dr. Sparks was a 1996 National Book Award Judge for Young People's Literature.

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Web page created 7 June 2002. Last modified 10 March 2005.